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Lords debates LGBTI citizens

18 September 2015

Image of UK Parliament portcullis

Members of the House of Lords, including a founder of Stonewall, and the UK’s first openly gay MP and member of the cabinet, debated the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) citizens worldwide on Thursday 17 September.

Members highlighted that some countries are not upholding the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights that 'all human beings are born free and equal', with some LGBTI citizens facing continued discrimination and violence.

Members urged the government to do more to strengthen its work overseas, and in the UK to improve co-ordination across government departments to tackle LGBTI issues. Other areas raised included business and asylum applications.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative), Foreign Office minister and the Prime Minister’s special representative on preventing sexual violence in conflict, responded on behalf of the government. She stressed that LGBTI rights are at the core of its work and that it is working with UK embassies and the UN to protect human rights across the world.

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